Narcissus deliberately shook off the piercing stares directed at him and Momo as he took his place before the altar where the coming-of-age ceremony would be held.

The area was crowded with far more young people than he had expected. Boys and girls of various races who had come of age this year had gathered in large numbers.

Having been born a prince and undergone his own private coming-of-age ceremony in the imperial palace, such a scene felt somewhat unfamiliar to Narcissus. While he stood rigid, uncomfortable with the attention focused on him, Momo seemed completely unbothered, happily enjoying the festival.

She appeared to have many friends here as well.

Narcissus stood at a distance, silently observing Momo at play. With the pale blue sky as her backdrop, Momo running across the fresh grass looked like a flower fairy. Her silver hair, adorned with woven branches, fluttered in the gentle breeze, and her snow-white heels danced joyfully over four-leaf clovers.

Momo rolled and jumped around so enthusiastically that her neatly braided hair became completely disheveled. Watching her like this, Narcissus thought, “She really is like a rabbit…”

He approached Momo, who had now collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily.

“Are you done playing?”

Just as he asked, a man simultaneously appeared before Momo.

“Are you enjoying the festival, JeJe?”

Momo, who had been smiling brightly at Narcissus, suddenly looked up at the voice that came from above her head.

“Ah, High Priest…”

“Why that expression again… Well, never mind. The coming-of-age ceremony has ended safely, so only the final finale remains. Do you have a partner?”

Only then did Shahan notice another presence beside Momo and asked. His icy gaze slowly slid toward Narcissus.

“Surely this boy isn’t your partner…”

“No, no, High Priest.”

“Who is this child?”

“He’s my friend who the Princess sent along with me.”

“Friend?”

Shahan extended his hand with an empty smile. His fingers, cold and stiff as a corpse, stroked Momo’s head from the crown down.

“So you’re saying you don’t have a partner?”

“No… But I don’t really need one.”

“Why not?”

“There’s no man I’m interested in. Besides, that’s not why I came to the coming-of-age ceremony.”

“That remains to be seen.”

“Pardon?”

“Today will be a very special Finale of Courtship.”

Shahan checked the time and murmured slowly.

“It’s about to begin. Take these masks.”

He handed white half-masks to Momo and Narcissus.

Narcissus reached out to accept the mask with an uneasy feeling. As he did, his hand briefly brushed against the other man’s. The touch felt unnaturally cold—chilly and slick, like scales.

Narcissus stared at the High Priest’s face, whose gender was difficult to discern, with hardened eyes. Immediately, a cold gaze shot back and pierced him.

“You are quite beautiful.”

The High Priest, whose beauty was so eerie that even another man couldn’t look away, extended his hand toward Narcissus.

“I am High Priest Shahan.”

His eyes were smiling, but his lips remained coldly rigid.

Narcissus did not take the offered hand. However, the man before him seemed unbothered and simply used that hand to touch Momo’s shoulder instead.

“Well then, enjoy yourselves.”

The drums began to beat, announcing the start of the finale.

Songs honoring the empire’s twelve gods echoed across the altar, carried by the sound of flutes.

Under the sky so blue it hurt the eyes, murky clouds began to billow.

Young men and women gathered like a swarm of bees began to move their bodies one by one on the grass.

* * *

Narcissus sensed something was wrong shortly after the drums began to sound.

He called out to Momo while moving away from a nearby couple who were rubbing their g*nitals against each other while pressed against a tree trunk.

“Momo.”

“Hmm.”

Momo slowly closed her clouded eyes and then opened them again.

Right beside them, n*ked boys and girls were entangled, rolling around on the damp ground. Eight limbs embraced each other like spiders, frantically exploring each other’s bodies.

The wet, squelching sounds of friction and disturbing moans pierced their ears from all directions.

“Momo, do they normally burn incense during the finale?”

“Hmm?”

A dreamy, whispering voice floated through the air.

Narcissus quickly lifted Momo, who was crouching on the grass with unfocused eyes staring at the altar.

“You know, Narcissus.”

“…”

“They don’t burn incense during the finale.”

Narcissus frowned deeply as he stared at the two turbid flames rising from the altar.

The hazy smoke billowing from them engulfed the altar like a death fog, seeping all the way to the meadow where the young people were mingling their bodies.

Suppressed cries of pleasure, nasal moans, and intense heat mixed chaotically with the fog.

“This is strange…”

Momo whispered breathlessly after inhaling the smoke. Slurred words flowed like water from lips that wouldn’t part properly.

Her eyelashes trembled violently as her reddened eyes narrowed slightly.

“I really… feel… strange…”

Her blue-gray eyes, which had been sparkling like a lake, were now completely disheveled.

Unable to rise from the grass, Momo began touching her own body with a tearful expression.

‘This is…’

At that moment, an impure suspicion flashed through Narcissus’s mind. His sharp gaze quickly scanned the chaotic altar and the people moving across it.

Many showed symptoms similar to Momo’s, but not everyone did.

In the midst of the orgy, there were clearly people who remained normal despite inhaling the same smoke as him.

Though he couldn’t yet accurately distinguish between humans and beastkin, he could clearly see that the boys and girls with visible animal ears and tails were behaving abnormally like Momo.

This suspicious incense permeating the forest was undoubtedly a beastkin aphrodisiac, modified from animal pheromones.

Once he reached that conclusion, there was no time to waste.

Narcissus barely managed to shake off the n*ked girls crawling toward him, then quickly lifted the weakened Momo onto his back.

“Mmm… Narcissus…”

Delicate arms loosely wrapped around his neck. Narcissus kept readjusting Momo’s slipping arms around his neck as he ran without stopping until they were far enough from the altar.

“Huff, hah…”

By now, the altar had become complete chaos, filled with moans and the sounds of flesh slapping against flesh.

Momo’s limbs, wrapped around Narcissus’s body, moved slowly against him. Desperately, she pressed into him, leaving dark marks on his skin.

“Narcis… hnngh, Narcisso… sus…”

Heated breaths relentlessly flowed into his ears. Soft lips pressed tightly against the back of Narcissus’s neck, endlessly whispering his name and tickling his earlobe.

Downy, soft skin clung like mucous membrane to his sweat-dampened body.

“I want to… I want to do it… Narcis… sus.”

Finally, the two stopped at a place where the smoke and moans from the altar could no longer be heard.

* * *

Narcissus leaned the swaying Momo against a large oak tree.

In the quiet forest, someone’s ragged breathing softly echoed.

Reclining at an angle, the limp Momo gazed at Narcissus with clouded eyes.

Her lips, slightly parted like flower buds, exhaled sweet breaths.

Between them, her snow-white teeth and moist tongue pressed together as she called Narcissus’s name with a yearning voice.

“Momo, get a hold of yourself.”

Momo shook her head vigorously. She quickly adopted a sullen expression, then hugged the tree she was leaning against and let out a purring nasal sound.

“S-sorry. For sh-showing you… mmm, this side of me…”

Narcissus looked down at the struggling Momo with gritted teeth.

Her unconsciously thrusting hips, her dilated pupils, her tightly pressed thighs trembling slightly.

Her cheeks and ears flushed with embarrassment at showing Narcissus her aroused state. Yet her small lips still firmly held onto his name, refusing to let go.

Watching all this, Narcissus felt his vision turning white-hot.

“Momo, please, get a hold of yourself…”

It was torture.

Whoever had burned such a strong aphrodisiac at the end of the coming-of-age ceremony must have been completely insane.

Now it wasn’t just one person desperately fighting their instincts.

If he reached out to her now, Momo would unhesitatingly throw herself into his arms.

The only thing fiercely restraining Narcissus from his burning desire was the single fact that Momo wasn’t in her right mind.

“Narcissus.”

She fumbled through the grass, crawling on all fours.

What sent Narcissus plummeting back into the abyss as he backed away was the small voice that followed.

“Touch me.”

“…”

“Don’t you… like me?”

“Momo.”

“I’ve already seen yours… haven’t I? I want to touch it too…”

Momo dropped her head helplessly and hugged her shoulders tightly while sobbing.

Narcissus’s Adam’s apple moved visibly. At the same time, a suppressed moan escaped through his teeth.

He slowly approached Momo and knelt before her. Immediately, arms white and soft as whipped cream tightly embraced Narcissus’s neck.

The scent of flesh infused with acacia rushed deep into his nostrils.

Momo wrapped her limbs around his firm torso like a child, continuously burrowing into his embrace.

She gently pressed her cheek against his face, then tilted her head slightly to nibble his round earlobe with her teeth.

Rising to her knees, Momo carefully brought her lips to his, and Narcissus parted his in response.

When she wanted to intertwine tongues, he offered his; when she wanted her lips sucked, he obliged.

Narcissus never initiated anything himself, and when she wanted to stop, he did. He simply accommodated everything Momo wanted.

Now, whimpering like a kitten, she took Narcissus’s hand and placed it on her chest, while guiding his other hand to her waist.

Her firmly entwined fingers urged him to quickly rub her highly sensitized areas.

Narcissus silently watched Momo, then closed his eyes for a long moment before opening them again. His turbid gaze lingered for a very long time on the face of the girl sitting before him.

“What are you doing, Narcissus…”

Momo whined in a wet voice.

“Momo, how will you face me later when you come to your senses?”

Narcissus gently removed his hand from Momo’s tight grip and embraced her. Then he slowly stroked her contracted back.

Mmm, hnngh… Sobbing breaths touched his nape. Her tiny body, like a baby bird, trembled in his arms. Her reddened eyes became completely wet with tears.

“I don’t know why I’m acting like this either.”

“It’s okay.”

Though she had inhaled a lot of smoke, it had been for a short time, so she would regain her senses soon.

Narcissus continued to gently pat Momo for a long while, waiting for her to calm down.